Looking to draw up exotic blitz packages inside a massive Twin Cities home?
Have we got the place for you: ex-Vikings coach Mike Zimmer's secluded Inver Grove Heights house, which just hit the market for $2 million.
"Gorgeous estate tucked away on 6 private acres!" raves the property listing from Jeffrey Dewing at Coldwell Banker. "Quick and easy access to the airport, Vikings facility, and downtown St. Paul! Truly a must-see!"
We asked to chat about the property, but never heard back.
At 8,887 square feet, this is a Linval Joseph-size home with five bedrooms and eight bathrooms. Among the various blue-blood amenities at 8718 Alvarado Trl.: a freshly remodeled kitchen featuring a coffee bar, wine bar, and walk-in pantry; a hangar-like athletic court; a new roof and gutters; two heated garages totaling seven parking spaces; and park-like pond views.
Zimmer purchased the place for $1.65 million in mid-2018, according to county records. Job security must've felt high at the time. Months earlier, the Vikings's 13-3 regular season had propelled them to the Minnesota Miracle playoff victory over the New Orleans Saints. The Vikes would fall to the eventual champs, the Philadelphia Eagles, the following week in the NFC Championship Game.
Things between Zimmer and the Vikings got real messy toward the end, the Strib's Ben Goessling reported a week after Zim's firing on January 10. Zimmer and ex-GM Rick Spielman, who got simultaneously canned, were not on speaking terms for the bulk of last season, Goessling reports. That tense relationship was later confirmed by Zimmer's girlfriend via Twitter:
What about the GM having a relationship with the organization? Not talking to your coach for three months? Rick, Back-peddling and “spin” have always been your “game”. You should be embarrassed by your media blitz of, “it wasn’t my fault”.
— Katarina Elizabeth Miketin (@KMiketin) January 29, 2022
Zimmer, who went 72-56-1 through eight seasons leading the Vikings, plans to coach somewhere in 2022.
Outside of football, Zimmer seems to have a fondness for jumbo properties. The 65-year-old coach's Zimmer Ridge Ranch in northern Kentucky totals 160 acres, ESPN reported in 2019, and includes another 8,000-square-foot home. Zimmer's late wife, Vikki, encouraged him to scratch that real estate itch.
"I would always say, 'I'd like to [buy property], but we might not be here next year or we might get a new job or we might get fired,'" Zimmer told ESPN's Courtney Cronin. "She used to always tell me that you can't live life that way, worrying about what's next. You can't worry about it."
Let's take a photo tour of 8718 Alvarado Trl., courtesy of the MLS listing:
